


Those We Doom

by raviiel



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Fate & Destiny, Gen, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 03:51:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17501021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raviiel/pseuds/raviiel
Summary: Zelda awakens from another nightmare.





	Those We Doom

Zelda wakes up in the middle of the night, one hand clutching at her chest while the other attempts to stifle her sobs so they won't alert her guards or attendants. She knows it's for nothing when a shadow appears at her side, but she can't make out what they're saying.

_"Breathe, princess… Breathe!"_

But she can't breathe. Thoughts and images race through her mind, invading the throes of sleep, and she furiously shakes her head, moaning and wailing. Her hands scramble for purchase, for any sense of security that will ground her.

_"Princess, princess!"_ A voice calls, but all she can see is the earth splitting open and releasing thousands of demons to ravage the land with blood. Her people, they'll be— _they'll be—_

"Zelda," another voice says. Cool fingers press against her feverish forehead. Her instinctual reaction is to snatch away from the touch and thrash, but then the storm of her mind begins to part. Lightning stops crackling, thunder calms down to a rumble before fading entirely, and soft light begins to stream through the thick murk.

Zelda's eyelids flutter, vision coming in and out of focus for a few moments before it clears. Dazed, she looks up and finds her personal attendant and guardian, Impa. Gasps still heave through her burning lungs, but the night terrors no longer have their claws tearing at her skin.

While she focuses on regaining her composure, she can hear Impa dismissing whoever the first person to discover her was. Footsteps hesitantly shuffle out of the room and Zelda's clammy hands curl into the bed sheets. With the new silence, Zelda becomes acutely aware of how awful she feels; her nightgown sticks to her skin slick with sweat, her hair is matte to her face in the same way, she's trembling, and a bone-chilling coldness refuses to release her.

Impa comes back around the bed with a mug of warm milk and sits on the side before reaching around to maneuver Zelda's hands into holding the mug securely. It shakes when she lets go. She studies Zelda a long moment before speaking.

"We must plan contingencies."

Zelda tenses and squeezes her eyes closed, fingers curling around the mug. "I…" Her voice shudders.

To not startle the princess anymore, Impa is gentle when she lays her hand on her arm. "I understand, but the time is drawing near. These relentless nightmares are clear evidence."

Zelda carefully lowers the mug and hopes her shaking hands won't spill it everywhere. Impa eases it out of her hold and places it on the nightstand next to the broad bed.

"...You cannot protect him forever," Impa murmurs.

Zelda wants to slap her palms over her ears and sing as loudly as she can. She wants to shove her fingers into her hair and _pull._ She wants to— _She wants to—_

Impa can only watch with pain in her heart as Zelda covers her face and heaves a great tremor of breath, shoulders hunching and legs pulling up tight.

"He is not ready," she weeps in a broken high pitch, "he is too young, too naive—I will send him to his _dea—"_

"You don't know that," Impa interrupts gently. "When have you ever known him to fail so easily?"

There is no answer, but Impa doesn't press one out. Guilt over events that have yet to transpire plague Zelda and has been for near a year now, since the nightmares occur more often. Impa doesn't pretend to understand Zelda's pain and knows there is no way for her to; Zelda is far older than Impa could ever be, than any of them could ever be. Time and time again, she has lived and worked fiercely and tirelessly to ensure the future of Hyrule, but her spirit can never be at rest for long.

Impa is one in a long line of many who stay by the princess' side, but she is ashamed that's _all_ she can do.

"Princess—"

"I wish to be alone," Zelda whispers. Her hands still cover her face but her tone brooks no argument. Impa stares a long moment and thinks of every angle to argue her stay, but then sighs.

"...Very well. I will be outside alone if you need me."

Zelda's hands keep to her face. She listens to her bed inhale, footsteps move across the floor, and then the door open. It closes, and her hands fall to her lap in defeat. Her head tips back and her eyes clench close again, but she doesn't wail like she wants to, instead letting the tears stream down and pool uncomfortably in the shells of her ears. The dreams intensify every night and her insomnia can only keep them at bay for so long.

The time is drawing near and nothing anyone does will stop it. Even with all her power as the Princess, she cannot save him from the will of the Goddesses, just as she was never able to before. They will unite out of a need to carry the lives of their people and then she will have to return him to his normal life as if it never happened.

_This wretched curse—_

Anger is quick to conquer her tears and she pushes out of bed in search of something to reign it in with, only to strut around for several minutes before shoving her weight onto a bedpost. She grinds a palm into one of her closed eyes.

_He is a boy—_

_Just a boy—_

_Hero—_

They're stuck in this endless cycle without freedom—she, the prophet, he, the savior, and _he,_ the catastrophe. No matter who she is or when she is, she will have to send the boy out to face a calamity he will never be ready for and beg that the Goddesses will be on their side. Even if she wanted to save him from that, she could not. He will be dragged into it all regardless.

He will lose something. Something will be stolen from him. He will suffer even the farthest reaches of the catastrophe, and then he will have to set out to stop it, to save all of them from it. The best she could do for him is be there, but she can't even do that. Her role is to be elusive for as long as she can. Without her, the catastrophe cannot truly commence, but even with all her cleverness and wisdom, she cannot keep shelter from it for long. The burden to save not only their world, but _every_ world, will always fall on the boy's shoulders because of this.

_He is only a boy,_ she thinks again, miserably. She has met him early in this lifetime; a lighthearted, just boy of fourteen, able to make friends wherever he is known, hardworking and kind. She thinks of him as he is now and her spirit twinges, for how could she ever throw such a tender soul into the path of impending doom? He will never be the same, and Zelda will never be able to mend that.

Without an ounce of energy left in her, she collapses back onto her bed. The nightmares _(prophecies, you cursed, cursed girl)_ will come again and harbor the end of the world, but will show her the boy whose shoulders it will inevitably fall onto. He will go, with bright eyes and a determined heart, and never complain. And when he comes back, a shadow of himself as he always is, he will still never grieve his fate. Regardless of whether he blames her after, Zelda will always blame herself, will always wish that she could _change_ something, _save him_ from this cruel and abominable cycle.

If the catastrophe is what brings Hyrule to its knees, then surely Zelda is what brings Link to his.

 

**Author's Note:**

> heyooo it's me again and i still don't know what the Fuck is Up. i feel like this one shoulda had more meat but it seemed to write itself and end itself so what can you do i guess
> 
> anyway i almost named this 'Terrible Fate' but it has nothing to do with Majora's Mask shockingly enough. really down w the idea that all three of our triforce bearers hate the cycle and wanna be free from it, but i suppose that's for a bigger project for a more capable writer lmfao. one of these days i'm gonna write a fic titled 'The Prophet, the Savior, and the Catastrophe'. sounds like a good title huh?
> 
> i hope you enjoyed reading! leave a comment :3c


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